Thwip
by Gwendie
Summary: PeterMJ AU. Beginning with Peter becoming Spider-Man. Can Peter and MJ ever be together when both don't know how they feel about each other? Distractions plust new enemies on spidey's parts complicate things for them. an -Out of town till august eigth
1. The Nerd and Miss Popular

A/N This is my first Spidey fic, tell me what you think :) This is an MJ/Pete fic. :) I read all of the ones on ff.net, and so now I decided to make one too! This is kind of an AU type story, the storyline would be a little bit of Ultimate Spiderman and a little from the movie.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Peter Parker walked down Midtown High School's crowded hallways intent on getting to his Chemistry class early. He wanted to ask his professor a few questions about an experiment he read up on before class started. He had his bag slung over his shoulder and kept his head down, as usual. He was careful not to make eye contact with anyone, especially those intent on making his life a living hell, such as Flash Thompson and his little gang of dunder heads. He saw the classroom ahead and walked into it.   
  
---  
  
Mary Jane Watson was not one who was considered normal. She was for one, one of the most popular girls in school. She was a tall redhead with sparkling green eyes, but that wasn't the reason Peter Parker loved her for all these years. When he saw her, the breath was knocked out of him and his heart beat faster than normal. He couldn't explain his love for her, it was yet another mystery that remained unsolved in his life. Ever since he first saw her when he was six years old, he wished he could see her every day. However, somewhere in his mind, the reality of the situation hit him like Flash Thompson's fists. She was way out of his league. Peter Parker, the class nerd, socially impaired, and Mary Jane Watson, the popular party girl, dating the most popular guy in school. Sure, they had talked a few times, but Peter was sure it was just out of sympathy and the fact that they were neighbors. Sometimes she would smile at him across a hallway or a classroom, but knowing her it was probably something she did all the time. So when he entered his Chem class he was caught completely off guard and even stumbled a bit when he saw none other than Mary Jane Watson sitting in her desk, patiently waiting for class to start while sipping a cup of coffee. She turned around and smiled.  
  
"Hey Pete," she said. He started to get extremely nervous, his hands were sweaty and his face started to turn a bright shade of red.  
  
"Uh...H-Hey-y Ah.. MJ." He managed to spit out. Crap, she probably thinks I'm an even bigger nerd now...  
  
"So what'cha doing here so early?" She said. Peter completely forgot. He was so caught up in the situation at hand that he forgot to talk to the professor, and class was starting in a few minutes.  
  
"Oh, uhh... I had to uh, ask Mr. Salks a question..." He said, rushing over to the desk. MJ saw him leaning over and frantically asking Mr Salks question after question. He looked so engaged in what he was learning. She smiled at this as the rest of the class poured in.  
  
"Alright, thanks Mr. Salks." Peter said as he sat down in his desk. While he was opening his books he felt a wad of paper hit him in the back of the head. He didn't even bother turning around, he knew that the school's usual cronies would sit there pretending to look innocent. He was used to it by now.   
  
--  
  
Mary Jane's expression turned into one of sympathy and hurt as she saw Peter endure the endless turmoil he must have to deal with on a daily basis. She turned around and shot Chris Walker a dangerous expression. He threw his hands up and mouthed, 'What did I do?.'  
  
"Stop it," She hissed to him and his friends. She turned back around, pleased that her neighbor would finally be able to go through one Chemistry class without being smacked in the head with various objects.  
  
--  
  
Peter was scribbling notes furiously as he heard the teacher's lecture. He was so absorbed in what he was doing that he failed to notice the absence of the cruel remarks usually headed his way. When the bell rung for class to end, he got up and shoved his books in his bag. It was the last period of the day, so he was going to get back home. He grabbed his coat from his locker and proceeded towards the exit. He looked up and groaned. It was Flash, surrounded by at least five of his buddies. He looked sideways, seeking the nearest exit.   
  
"Hey Parker, heard you got off easy today in Chem.'' One of them said.  
  
"Yeah, c'mon Parker, we can't have that," Flash said to him.  
  
"Flash, I'm just leaving." Peter said, looking exhausted and in no condition to put up a fight.  
  
"Oh, okay. I'll just leave you a present," He said. He flung his fist forward and caught Peter square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Peters obvious lack of muscle was one reason he resorted to running in situations such as these. The punch hurt a lot, and as Peter was struggling to straighten himself up and preparing for the worst, he heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Flash! Stop it, he didn't do anything."   
  
It was Mary Jane. She had come to help him!  
  
"Hey back off honey, I'm just giving him a piece of my mind." Flash said, shrugging off her comment.  
  
"No Flash, leave him alone, now!" She looked furious now, standing her ground.  
  
"Mary Jane, back off." Flash said, turning to her now.  
  
"No, leave him be Flash," She said again, now looking a bit fearful as Flash advanced on her.  
  
"MJ, get out of here. Now. We'll talk later." He said.  
  
"Leave her alone Flash, this is you and me," Peter said. Such brave words for someone who just had his lights punched out.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." Flash said, throwing up his arms. "This isn't even worth it," He said, turning and striding off.  
  
Mary Jane watched them go and walked over to Peter, who was on the ground. She extended her hand to him and smiled.  
  
"Here, you don't look so good," She said and pulled him up. This is Mary Jane... this is the girl I love, helping me...  
  
"Th-Thanks a lot MJ, but you didn't have to do that for me..." He said, looking a little embarassed. She laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"C'mon Pete, your my friend. I can't bear to see you in trouble. It was pretty brave of you to say that to Flash." She said.  
  
"Well, I was just, y'know..." He looked awkward, like he didn't know what to say.  
  
"Don't dwell on it, Tiger. Forget Flash, his life is pretty much worthless anyway." She said.  
  
Peter looked a little confused. Why was she saying these things about her supposed boyfriend?  
  
"But aren't you two..." He started, "No," She said. "No, we're done. I couldn't take him anymore, the way he treats people. He's so self centered, I don't know if he even knew anything about me." She said.  
  
"Oah.. I ah... I'm sorry..." Peter said. "Don't be, I didn't like him that much anyway." She smiled and looked at him. Really looked at him. She noticed that behind those thick glasses, he had two beatiful ice blue eyes.   
  
Peter on the other hand was so wrought with nervousness that he thought he might burst at any moment. He was sure his face was beet red and his hands were damp. She could probably see his heart beating way too fast and his uneasiness.  
  
"Well, I gotta run, see you later, Tiger," She said and turned around. She walked away and Peter sighed. Just the nerd again. He knew that was probably all she saw him as. It was all anyone saw him as. But then, she had stood up for him, hadn't she? That was one of the reasons he loved her so much.  
  
==  
  
He got back home a little later, after picking up a few groceries for Aunt May. Upon entering his room, he threw his bag down and collapsed on his bed. He was exhausted. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He put them back on and looked at a graduation notice on his desk.   
  
Oh yeah... Graduation... I wasn't thinking of it... It's in four days. Finally, I'll be away from all those guys... but MJ... what will I do without her?   
  
He folded his hands behind his head and dipped into a new state of low. The prospect of life without MJ would be terrifying. It sounded silly, but he couldn't live without her. Even if he knew they would never be 'together.' His eyes turned to his window, where he saw MJ in the house next door. He looked up a little more and saw her on her bed with her face in her hands. She looked like she was crying. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and got up. She walked out of her room and Peter thought she would probably be going downstairs or something.  
  
He went down to dinner a couple hours later and seemed completely out of it. He wasn't sure why, but he just felt like something big was coming to an end. His graduation would be the final day he may see MJ for a long time.   
  
"Hey Peter, how was school?" Uncle Ben said to him.  
  
"Wha-What? Oh. Right. Um, it was good." He didn't want his Aunt and Uncle to know what went on, they would worry too much.  
  
"Thats good Pete. So, excited to finish High school?" He said.   
  
"Um, yeah, I guess Uncle Ben." He said half-heartedly.  
  
"Aw, He's probably worried he won't see Mary Jane anymore." Aunt May said knowingly.  
  
Peter looked up and smiled at this, she always knew what was going on in his head.  
  
"Ah, Pete. You'll see her all the time, she lives next door!" Uncle Ben said.  
  
"Yeah... I guess." He said, finishing up his plate of food.  
  
---  
  
The next day Peter awoke with a new feeling of happiness. They were finally going on his much anticipated trip to the Arachnid exhibit. He was fascinated by these kind of things. He quickly got dressed and put on his glasses as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He looked out of his window to see MJ turning and going down her stairs. He darted out of the house, saying a quick "G'bye" to Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He arrived just in time to see MJ walking out of the house with her father yelling at her out of the window.  
  
"You good for nothing wench, get back in here and clean up this shit!" He screamed at her. She said nothing but walked a bit faster as her father dismissed her with a wave of his hand and walked drunkenly back into his house. Peter ran up next to her.  
  
"MJ... hey, are you alright?" He said looking concerned. She looked like she had tears in her eyes. She tried to look like it was nothing, but it didn't work.  
  
Peter's always known when I'm in trouble... he's so considerate. I don't feel like I have to hide from him...   
  
"I'm sorry, Pete... sorry to bother you at this hour... It was nothing, please don't worry about me," She said.  
  
"MJ... if you wanna talk about anything..." He said.  
  
"Aw, Thanks Pete. I'll be okay... besides, I'll be out of here soon anyway..." She said.  
  
"Yeah... MJ, really, are you alright?" He said.  
  
"I'm fine Pete, really..." She said. She changed the subject, "So do you have plans for after graduation?" she said.  
  
"Well... uh, Harry and I were planning to get an apartment together. His dad has a place up in the city." He said.  
  
"Hey, maybe I'll see you around there, I was planning to go up there as well. Y'know, get a job, make something of myself..." She said.  
  
I feel like I can say anything to him...  
  
"I... I well, I want to... I want to be an actress..." She said.   
  
He brightened at this and smiled. "MJ, you would be awesome. You'll definately be a amazing. You'll make it into Broadway for sure," He said.  
  
She smiled. This was the first time she'd ever said that to anyone.  
  
"Thanks, Peter." She said. Before he could respond a car pulled up behind her and MJ was literally pulled in by a couple of her girlfriends.   
  
"Hey MJ, whats up! C'mon, my dad bought me this great new...." Was all he heard before she was wisked away.  
  
He sighed and looked up to see that he'd missed the bus again. Luckily for him he was up early so he could have time to walk to the exhibit.  
  
AN. Sorry nothing really happened in this chapter, I'm just kinda setting the stage. And don't worry, this may sound too much like the movie but it's just the beginnning. It'll take off next chappie. 


	2. Spiders

Peter entered the exhibit barely able to contain his excitement. He was furiously snapping pictures here and there of various types of machinery and spiders. He stopped when he saw the dangerous glares he was getting from Flash and his gang. He didn't want to cause a scene if Flash decided to punch his face in. He was barely listening when the tour guide was explaining how they used genetics from several spiders to create 15 super spiders. He was too busy examining each and every one. One of them seemed to be pulling a rock up to a branch with webbing - except the rock was at least twice it's size! Another leaped clear across the length of it's cage effortlessly.   
  
"Cool..." He muttered.  
  
"Hey Pete, c'mon," He heard Harry hiss at him from across the room. The group was already leaving.   
  
"Yeah, Hold on..." He was fumbling with the lense cap on his camera when he felt an intense jolt of pain on his hand.  
  
He looked down to see an irritated red bite mark. To his left he saw a small spider scurrying under a desk and out of sight.   
  
What if it's posionous...   
  
"Coming Harry," He said, rushing off.  
  
When he got into the next room he saw the exhibit was at an end. The group was wrapping up whatever they were doing and people were leaving. It was only one o clock so Peter thought it'd be a good idea to pick up some paint tools for Uncle Ben. He walked ove to the exit, putting his camera back in it's bag and looked once more at the angry, irritated skin on his hand. He frowned and wondered for a moment if he should see a doctor. It's probably nothing, I'm sure this happens all the time here. Besides, not all spiders are poisonous...   
  
"Pete!"   
  
He turned around to see Mary Jane rushing over to him.  
  
"Oh... uh... Hey, Mary Jane..." He stuttered. She smiled and replied, "Hey, thanks for helping me out this morning. I actually feel a lot better. It's nice to know they're people like you out there, Pete." She said breathlessly.  
  
"Oh, uh... it was nothing, MJ." He said.  
  
She smiled and there was an awkward silence in which they just stared at each other. The silence was broken by a "Hey Peter," from behind him.  
  
It was Harry. He came up behind them and smiled brightly.  
  
"Hey Pete. Oh uh, Hey MJ," He turned back to Peter, "My father's just gotten most of your stuff moved in, so we're good for now." He said.  
  
"Thanks Harry." Peter replied.  
  
==  
  
Mary Jane noticed that Peter always seemed extremely nervous when he spoke to her. At first she thought it was probably because he was always like that, but when she saw him speaking to Harry as well she knew it musn't be that. She was touched by his kind and considerate words and wondered what he had ever done to deserve the reputation he had. The nerd, the one you don't want to be friends with if you value your rep. He was truly different, and Mary Jane found herself looking at him in a new light. She never thought she'd see Peter as her best friend, but it seemed like he was now. As she walked home by herself, she wondered where he was. If he was home, she could maybe go and talk to him. There was no way she was going home early, she barely got home before seven most days just to delay the time until she'd have to go into that terrible place. She actually felt like she missed Pete, and it felt weird.  
  
I'm not falling for Peter Parker, am I?  
  
She couldn't answer that herself.   
  
--  
  
Peter got home just in time that day to help Aunt May cook dinner. He saw MJ going into her house from outside the window and wondered for a moment why she was out so late.  
  
Probably doing something fun with her friends... without me...  
  
It was stupid for him to think that MJ would want to be around him. It was stupid to think that she would even want to be his friend. He was the one everyone avoided at school.   
  
But she's different... Another side of him argued. She helped him out at school, stood up for him. It felt good to have her there. She probably only did it out of sympathy anyways.   
  
His stomach gave a violent lurch and he wondered if what he had for lunch that day was getting to him. His vision started to spin and he was getting a little dizzy.   
  
"Uhh... Aunt May, I'm uh, gonna go upstairs and take a nap really fast y'know I'm kinda tired..." He said, steadying himself with one hand on the wall.  
  
"Oh, are you alright Peter?" She asked looking concerned.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, uh, see ya," He said, dashing up the stairs and collapsing on his bed.   
  
===  
  
He woke up in the middle of the night feeling completely drained. He could barely pull himself up. He'd missed dinner and suddenly felt famished. He reluctantly fell off his bed and got up. He pulled his glasses on and walked down the stairs, only to find that he'd crashed into the railing on the stairs. He groaned and noticed that his glasses were blurry. He pulled them off and found he could see perfectly. Putting them on again, it was blurry.  
  
Woah... my perscription must have changed drastically or something...  
  
He walked down the stairs, discarding the glasses on the table and went into the kitchen. He opened the oven and found his plate of chicken and rice and took it out. He ate it extremely fast and was still hungry. After eating much of the cupboard and refrigerator, he went outside to take the trash out. He walked lazily over to the trash bin and noticed that he barely felt the weight in his hands. Usually he had to struggle to get it out the door, but this time he felt like he was holding onto a feather.   
  
That's even weirder, maybe the trash was just mostly cardboard today or something...  
  
He put it in the trash can and looked around his house. He decided to get the paint things out of the garage to bring in for tomorrow. He opened the garage door and went inside. He looked under the car and groaned. Some animal must have kicked the paint can off the steps and it was now rolled under Uncle Ben's car. He reached under the car but found he couldn't reach it. He then proceeded to put his head and half his body under while steadying himself with his hand on the car.   
  
Almost there...  
  
He reached out and grabbed it, but not before the car was lifted clear off the ground.   
  
He had pushed the car off the ground.  
  
Pushed it. Off. The ground.  
  
"Woah...." He said. The car felt suprisingly light.   
  
"Okay, now this is where we have no explanation..." He said, putting the car down. It must weigh tons. There was no way he'd be able to do that. Ever. He dashed up into his room and sat on his bed thinking of every possible reason that this could be happening. He was confused and tired, so he decided to just go to bed and figure it out in the morning. He pulled off his shirt and was about to get into bed before he caught a glance of himself in the mirror. He turned around and looked shocked. His figure was muscular. Peter Parker, muscular. Those words were never in a sentence together. He had a six pack and his muscles were rock hard.   
  
"Well. That explains it." He said. He wondered how in the world he got like this. He'd never been to a gym in his life, let alone done regular excersise. He was always the kid who could barely lift a 10 pound bar in gym class.   
  
"Too weird..." He said. He was overcome with exhaustion and decided that it was probably a dream or something and he'd wake up in the morning just the same old Peter Parker. As he fell on his bed and was on the verge of sleep, he faintly remembered a spider crawling across his hand. 


	3. Changing

{rtf1ansiansicpg1252deff0deflang1033{fonttbl{f0fswissfcharset0 Arial;}} {generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1503;}viewkind4uc1pardf0fs20 Chapter Threepar par tab Peter woke up the next day feeling great. He stretched and got dressed, not even bothering to get his glasses. He ran down the stairs energetically and couldn't wait to get to school to tell MJ and Harry about what he had done last night. He grabbed a peice of bacon and his bag and sped out the door. Walking cheerfully out the door, he was fine until he saw the bus zip past him. He groaned realizing that the bus left at 8:00 on Thursdays. par i Oh well, I'll just be late. It's not like it'll be on my record or anything, I mean graduation is tomorrow.Ipar i0 --par He arrived at his first class, AP English half an hour late. His teacher didn't acknowledge his tardiness and he was grateful for that. He wasn't even thinking about what was happening in class. He was reminising about the night before when he realized he had obtained new powers. When the bell rang for the next class he stopped and sighed.par It was gym class.par The class Peter had loathed all through high school. He didn't even know why he had to take it, it's not like it was an academic subject. Peter was always the one being picked on or the one they threw the balls at. He was pretty much beaten down when they played Dodgeball or Basketball. He walked into the gym and saw numerous basketballs scattered along the ground.par i Great, just great. Basketball. i0par He hurried into the locker room and took his time changing. When he got out the coach pointed him to be on the team opposite Flash Thompson and his gang. par "Alright kids settle down. Right, five people per team... Since it's the last day of your high school uh... life... we thought you guys should play a game, since we won't be needing any fitness at this point in the year. Right, start when you'd like." The teacher walked away and sat on the bleachers.par "Hah, you really think you can play? Puny Parker?" One of the guys on the other team said.par "Yeah, seriously, why don't you just cut this class it'd do us all some good." Another one said.par "C'mon guys lets just start," Flash said, walking over to the middle of the court. par Peter was determined to give it his all this time, even if his "all" was really terrible. Since it was their last day he figured he should at least try to not be beaten up for once. par Flash dribbled the ball towards the basket on their side when Peter decided now was the time to show Flash that he wasn't a wimp. Even if he was, he was a brave wimp. par i Yeah, makes sense. A brave wimp. Good thing those two contradict themselves... i0 He thought.par Peter leapt towards Flash and stole the ball right out from under him. It seemed like the entire class just froze right there. No one had ever landed a steal on Flash succesfully. He was the schools best basketball player. Peter immediately raised his hands and shot the ball into his net from half-court. Everyone was silent now. They were all thinking the same thing: i How in the world did puny Parker get so good?par i0 Peter didn't know what happened. It felt like Flash was slowly dribbling the ball and Peter could snatch it away from right under his nose. It seemed like he could see things in slow motion and act before any one else could. par "Parker!" par Peter turned to see the coach walking towards him, astonished.par "Bravo Parker, Bravo! How in the hell did you manage that? Even Thompson here couldn't pull off a half-court shot! Can you do it again?" He said excitedly. par "Uhh... I'll try..." Peter said, trying to avoid making eye contact with the death glares coming from Flash and his buddies.par Peter dribbled the ball twice, lifted it and shot it perfectly into the net. From half court. Again.par "Parker, Parker, Parker! Why haven't you tried out for my team?!" He said, smiling.par "Uhhh I don't usually have time..." Peter replied, scratching his head. He was awful at Basketball and he had no idea why some hidden talent chose his last day of High school to appear.par "You've got some talent boy! I reccomend you go for Basketball at your College!" The coach said. par "Oh uh... sure, Mr. Brett." Peter replied awkwardly.par --par Peter rushed out of the gym before Flash could pummel him for beating him at Basketball. He was looking for MJ and Harry to tell them what happened when it hit him.par i Why would MJ want to know? Heck, she probably wouldn't care. Her old boyfriend was a basketball champion. i0par He sighed and walked on to his next class, a little sunken looking.par --par When class finally ended for the day, there were loud cheers in the hallways coming from every senior there. Peter walked towards the entrance when yet again, he heard a "Parker!" from behind him. He didn't need to turn to recognize that voice.par Flash Thompson.par Coming to give him a farewell beating.par Great.par "Hi." Peter said, awkwardly. He didn't know why he should be ashamed of being better at Basketball then Flash. par "I wanna talk to you," Flash said. He sent him a sarcastic smile as he flung his fist forward. par Peter was prepared to be pummeled until he realized he hadn't been hit at all. All he felt was a little breeze. He looked up to see that he had succesfully dodged his punch. Peter laughed a little, and Flash got even angrier, thinking that Peter was acting cocky.par "I'll get you you little..." Flash sent a series of punches his way and Peter managed to dodge all of them.par There was now a crowd of people surrounding them. Peter dodged another punch, this time by backflipping out of the way. The crowd gasped at this, wondering how in the world Peter had become some sort of gymnast overnight.par "Flash, please, stop." He heard someone from the crowd say. Peter turned around to see Mary Jane looking concerned.par "Peter, Peter are you all right? Peter look out!!!" She cried and before Peter could turn Flash's fist was coming his way. Strangely, Peter felt as though he already knew what was coming and rolled out of the way. par Flash was so frustrated now that he screwed the punches and ran headfirst at Peter. Peter jumped up and pushed off a wall to somersault right over Flash's head. Unfortunately, Peter misjudged the difference and he flew straight into the wall. He fell down on the ground and looked up to see Flash standing over him.par "You've really pissed me off, Parker." He said. Peter's shocked face must've shown through because Flash snickered and raised his right leg, preparing to kick him into the next century.par Peter saw his foot coming in slow motion again. He couldn't explain this weird... sense... he had. He reacted immediately and with superhuman speed, grabbed Flash's foot and absorbed the shock into his hand, tripping Flash with the other. He fell face first on the ground. Peter stood up triumphantly. He'd finally gotten Flash. For once. Instead of the crowd cheering him on as they usually did for Flash, they all were silent and shocked looking. He looked over at Harry, who was smirking, and MJ, who looked concerned.par --par When the crowds of people had left the school, Peter was left alone in the hall leaning against a wall. He was more confused than ever. How was he able to see things before they came at him? How was he suddenly a super strong, super fast athlete? He'd never done any of this before. Then it hit him.par The spider bite.par i Of course! How did I not see it before... the tour guide said they were genetically altered... super spiders... the one I saw lifting the rock! I must've some how acquired their traits! par ==par i0 Peter walked home alone that day with a full intention of going straight home. He wondered if there was anyone else who had these powers. par i Most likely not.... those things have been around at least a year... i0 He thought.par Peter was so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to notice a speeding car heading straight for him.par Luckily for him, he was already soaring through the air before the car was near enough to hit him. The spider-sense had kicked in again and warned him. He had immediately reacted to it. He was clearing about 25 feet of air before he crashed straight into a building wall. par "Oh crap, oh crap...." He scampered on the wall, looking for a foothold and started to fall before he stopped. He had found a hold on the wall.par "Thank goodness..." He sighed. Until he realized he wasn't on a foothold. He was i stickingi0 to the wall. par Sticking.par First he had jumped four stories high, then he had stuck to a wall?! His day was getting even crazier. par "Uuuhh.. Okay... right, so now how do I get down?" He couldn't jump, he'd break his back doing that. It was clear pavement on the bottom. He lifted one hand off the wall and put it back down. It stuck again. Then a crazy idea hit him.par He started to climb. He actually was climbing up the side of a building. par "Holy crap!" He exclaimed. He reached the top of the building and peeked over. He was about six stories up. Well, no way down now. He looked around and saw a building next to him. He started running straight for the edge of the building. When he reached the side, he leapt. He jumped about 30 feet. He soared high over the building and landed on the next with ease.par "Yes!!! This is so amazing." He said. He sauntered over to the edge of the building and looked down. His breath caught right in his throat from suprise. Walking on the street far below, was a red-headed girl. It was Mary Jane! par "Wow, wouldn't she love to hear what I've been up to!" But then he froze. Telling MJ is not a good idea, He thought. What would she think of him then? Would she think he was a freak? Would she be afraid of him? par "I shouldn't tell her. It would freak her out. I'll just keep it to myself." Peter said. He walked over to the edge of the building and climbed down into an alley below. He ran over to meet MJ on the sidewalk.par "MJ! Hey MJ!" He said running up to her.par "Peter! Hey!" She said, smiling.par "Listen MJ, I'm really sorry for uh... y'know, for getting Flash like I did.... I'm sorry If I hurt him... I mean-" par "Pete. It's alright, he'll be fine. He's only worrying about his chances with the girls now." She said.par "Is he okay?" par "Don't worry about him Pete, he's just a little bruised. I'm sure its nothing compared to what you've gone through all these years." par "Yeah, well... uh..."par Peter found that they were already at his house. He was a little dissapointed that they're conversation had only consisted of Flash. par "Well Pete, I'll see you at graduation, alright?" She said, smiling.par "Yeah, sure, definately. See you MJ." par "And Pete... Thanks... for being a good friend." She said, and walked into her house.par i I love you, Mary Jane...i0 He thought sadly.par } 


	4. Last Days

Chapter 4  
  
Peter walked into his house after watching Mary-Jane go into hers. He came in to find Aunt May preparing the dinner and Uncle Ben looking for a job in the newspaper.   
  
"Hey kiddo, how was your last day of high school?" Uncle Ben said cheerfully, giving him a hug.  
  
"Uhhh.." He remembered beating Flash Thompson. "Well..." And then Mary-Jane. "Thanks for being a good friend..." she had said.  
  
"Great." He said, smirking.   
  
"Thats great, sweetie. We've gotten your suit for tomorrows graduation. It's upstairs on your bed," Aunt May said while placing some rice into a siv.  
  
"Oh... Okay. I'm gonna go upstairs, I... uh, have a few things I need to take care of. Hold on." Peter said and gestured to the stairs. He dashed upstairs and looked at himself in the mirror. He held one hand up and noticed, very faint, almost invisible hairs. If you weren't looking for them, you would never notice them.   
  
"Cool." He ran a hand through his hair and noticed something sticky in his hair. He pulled it out. It was stuck so tight that he could hardly get it off. When he finally managed to get some of it off, he noticed that it was tough white thread. He raised an eyebrow at this.  
  
Never seen anything like this before.  
  
He tossed it aside and lay down on his bed. He heard Aunt May calling him from downstairs and got up to leave, but not before he heard a faint "thwip" as he turned to leave. He wondered if he had another mouse in his room. He checked under his bed and around in his room.   
  
"Uhhh... hold on Aunt May," He said. He went over to his desk to pick up a flashlight before it happened again. Right when he'd picked up the flashlight, he heard the sound. The flashlight had stuck to him. He tried to let it go but it wouldn't budge. He turned his arm over to see a small, faint slit in his wrist. Coming out of it was the white substance.   
  
"Okay, I think there is now something seriously wrong with me..." He said. He pryed the flashlight off and examined his wrist. He tried making the stuff come out at will, but to no avail. He flexed his fingers, hoping something would happen. He folded his two middle fingers in and his wrist jerked as he sent a strand of the substance flying through the air and attaching to the wall.   
  
It was a web. Thousands of strands of webbing curled around each other to make one thick strand. He tugged on it and felt the wall go with him.   
  
"Crap, Okay, scratch that. This stuff is tougher than I would've thought." He tried snapping it, but it simply bent. He released it and it fell limply on his floor, still attached to the wall.  
  
"Oh well, I'll just have to say I have a spider infestation or something...." He said, laughing as he went downstairs.  
  
"Hey buddy, have some meatloaf!" Uncle Ben exclaimed, motioning for Peter to sit down next to him.  
  
"Okay, Thanks." He said and sat down at the table.  
  
---  
  
Mary Jane was distraught. She felt like she had lost everything in her life that ever had any meaning at all. She had lost a father to alcohol long ago, so that was nothing new. Her mother was practically going insane, having to deal with her father and the finances. Her friends had deserted her when she broke up with Flash and started publicly standing up for Peter and befriending him. Of course, they'd always been friends. But at school it was more of a saying "Hi" in the halls type of friendship. They never were that close until now. There were other guys trying to get her to be their girlfriend once they heard she'd had it with Flash and it drove her crazy. She couldn't stand the way people made fun of Peter, and she couldn't stand the fact that after graduation she had nowhere to really go. She didn't have enough money for an apartment, well, yet. She had a job as a clerk for a while, but so far her total amount of money was only three-hundred dollars. She would have to work two jobs to be able to keep an apartment for more than a few months in Manhattan. She felt like she was being pushed into something too fast and she wasn't ready for it at all. The only real steady thing in her life was Peter. He was always there for her no matter what. She felt like she could always rely on him. He made her feel like she could do anything, be anything. She turned her head to her window and stared out at the house next-door. She sighed and decided she'd better go and start calling some places for work.  
  
---  
  
Peter went back upstairs with a paper after dinner. He thought it would be a good time to get a job, because he didn't want to have Harry and his father pay for all the rent. He wanted to help out too, even if he wasn't that much help. He opened the paper and started skimming for jobs when a particular ad caught his eye. It read:  
  
$3000.00 CASH PRIZE  
  
For 3 minutes in the ring   
  
with the Crusher! Accepting  
  
applicants now!   
  
He read over the directions to the place and an idea popped up in his mind.  
  
I could get some money to start myself off... I wouldn't need to work until next month!  
  
He read that the event would take place tomorrow.   
  
"Aw, crap." He groaned. Graduation was tomorrow. Well, he'd just have to slip out early. I mean, this thing started at 8 PM, and Graduation ended at about 8 or so, it would depend.   
  
Ugh, how am I gonna get home? Uncle Ben could drive me... no, that would be stupid, he wouldn't let me leave early in the first place... I could walk? No... bike? No... too far, and would take too long. Ah, I'll just have to take the subway. I'll bring my wallet filled with all of 5 dollars.   
  
He finally laid down in his bed two hours later and stared up at the ceiling.  
  
"Things are going good."   
  
A/N Sorry if this chapter was short, I just felt like this would be a good place to end it. It'd be better to start the next chapter off with the graduation eh? It'll be a longer chapter though, maybe the longest so far. :) 


	5. Prelude

Peter woke up the next day with a new sense of excitement. He was thinking about various things he could do with the money he would win while putting on his best suit for graduation. There was still the whole plan that he didn't have about getting out of graduation early.   
  
"Peter, come on down we don't want to be late!" He heard Aunt May call from downstairs.  
  
"Coming!" He said, straightening his blue tie.  
  
He raced down the stairs and tried to flatten his hair a little on his way down. He stopped in front of Aunt May and Uncle Ben and smiled.  
  
"Ready!" He said.   
  
"Alright son, don't get too excited." Uncle Ben said, guiding him out the door and into the car. The drive there was mostly silent. Peter was thinking about all the possibilities when a thought hit him.  
  
What if I lose?  
  
He hadn't really thought of that. He'd considered it, but hadn't thought he would be the one losing. He was so confident in his new abilities that he hadn't even begun to think of the consequences. If he got really beat up, how would he explain himself out of that? Coming home to Aunt May and Uncle Ben with a new set of bruises was not an idea he'd like to entertain.  
  
Peter arrived at the school just in time to see the students gathering into a large group, apparently listening to the principal talking. Everyone clapped as he finished and the students were ushered to the back of the courtyard, out of sight from the audience. The band struck up the classic graduation theme and they started walking in single file towards the risers. Peter's mind was totally somewhere else - he was looking around frantically for any way to escape. He had to let Aunt May and Uncle Ben see him on the risers first, then, when they all broke up for the reception, he'd high tail it out of there. It sounded terrible for Aunt May and Uncle Ben, but he had to do it. He knew he was supposed to go to this. The principal called out names as Peter sat in his seat with a calculating look on his face. He caught MJ out of the corner of his eye, looking at him with a frown on her face. He suspected his frustration was clearly plastered all over his face. He looked up at MJ and smiled a little, offering her reassurance.   
  
"Peter Parker," He heard a voice say. He sprung up and it took a moment to realize that he was being called up. He strode up and accepted his diploma and shook the principal's hand. He sat back down and admired the little leather booklet in his hand. He opened it and inside was a written diploma directed to him.  
  
Whew, finally.  
  
"-Jane Watson," He heard that name jump out from his train of thoughts and looked up just in time to see Mary Jane receiving her diploma and walking back to her seat. She looked at Peter and smiled. He was aware that there were butterflies in his stomach and that that one smile from MJ was answered by a goofy grin on his part.   
  
"And to this class, I wish you good luck in the world, and good-bye!" The principal said, turning to the audience. The audience clapped and all the students threw their hats up in the air in unison.   
  
Except for Peter, who didn't notice that everyone had done anything until a hat hit him in the face. He reached for his own and threw it but realized it looked silly because he was the only one doing it at that point. Nobody noticed, however, everyone was too busy rushing towards the food tables. par  
  
Peter ducked under the crowd and proceeded towards the steps that led down to the backside of the school and the road. He didn't have much time, it was already 7:40 PM. He quickly pulled his jacket off and revealed a red and blue wrestling uniform. He pulled on a balaclava that his Aunt May had given him years ago to hide his face. He knew he probably looked like a dork, but that was the best he could do and if he could beat this guy then it wouldn't matter. He heard Harry calling to him and Peter knew that this was the time to get out of there. He quickly leapt as far as he could around the corner and stuck to the side of a wall.   
  
"Hm, guess he must be up with the rest of the people..." Harry said, turning and leaving.  
  
He looked at his watch and immediately sprung up and off the wall.  
  
"Crap! I'm not gonna make it!" He said, slapping his head. He climbed to the top of the building, hoping to find any building he could jump to in order to make it there any faster. He found none that he could make it too without falling on someone's head and sighed. He looked around for any sign of a taxi but saw none.   
  
Then a crazy idea hit him.  
  
He looked down at his wrists and recalled the strange goop that had shot out of it the night before. He wondered if it would hold to a building.  
  
He shot one web line out and hit the closest building with it. Miraculously, it stuck. He tugged on the string a couple times to check the weight capacity. He didn't know if it would break or not, but if it did he was one squashed high school graduate.   
  
"Okay, let's see if this works." He jumped onto the ledge of the building and looked around.par  
  
He jumped off.  
  
He swung at a tremendous speed for a few seconds until he found he was nearing the building. The building was just under his feet and he was almost there when...  
  
CLUNK.   
  
He'd smashed head first into a humongous billboard. He looked up and saw four billboards, all advertising something about an Octavius science corporation. When he'd finally stopped swaying about, he regained his senses particularly fast and ran again at the edge of this building. This time, he decided to look where he was going for a change and fired a web line at the nearest building on his right. It was a little ahead of him, but he thought it would be faster than anything else. He leapt from the building and soared through the air until he'd reached the peak of his swing.  
  
"Aaahhhh.... uh... what do I do now???" He looked around and fired another web line. For a moment, he was stuck there, suspended at least 60 feet off the ground between two buildings. It was getting dark, but he felt like he could see extremely well compared to his usual night vision. He supposed it came with the rest of the powers. He let go of one of his web lines, fearing crashing into another building. When he'd swung far enough, he did it again.  
  
"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" He exclaimed, swinging off into the night.  
  
He arrived at the wrestling arena at 8:10 PM, a little later than expected. Some guy was just finishing getting beaten when Peter walked up and tapped the announcer on the shoulder. He nodded and the man who was just proclaimed the loser was escorted off the ring in a stretcher. Peter began to have second thoughts about this as he watched the man be wheeled away screaming in agony as a phony nurse pretended to know how to deal with him.  
  
"Aalllright folks, here we have it, a fourth challenger! Will this one go down to the hospital in pieces like the rest? Or will he finally triumph against the Crusher!" The announcer exclaimed dramatically into the mic. The crowd cheered at this. It seemed they were all on the big guys side.  
  
"And here he is, the next victim, the..." He looked down at a paper and whispered to Peter, "Are you kidding me? Who came up with this name?" The announcer crumpled the paper and threw it behind him, taking up the mic again. "Theeeee Spider-Man!"   
  
Peter was a bit confused, he was sure he'd put down "The Human Spider" on his application form. He looked around, trying to see if the announcer was telling him he had screwed up. Peter was a bit annoyed at that, but walked down to the ring with a new sense of nervousness rising up within him.  
  
The crowds jeers certainly weren't helping at all. He bent under the ropes and approached the ref. "You wanna piece o' me little guy?" The crusher said, mockingly.  
  
"Uhh... well..." The bell rang for the match to start, and Crusher wasted no time in letting Peter make the first move. He furiously directed swipes and punches at Peter, but just as he had with Flash, he ducked and dodged every single one of them. After 2 minutes of non stop rolling, dodging, and jumping, Peter decided to take the offensive. He jumped high into the air and came down on the Crusher's head. He stumbled and fell over, but got up again. Peter immediately swung at him and collided with his face as the crowd gasped. The punch sent Crusher flying off the ring and into the aisles.   
  
"One... Two.. Three... We have a winner!" The ref said, holding Peter's arm up into the air. He had done it. He had made something of himself. Well, of "Spider-Man." He wondered again what he could do with his winnings.  
  
Peter walked up to the managers office the next day with a smile on his face. He opened the door and looked at him expectantly. The manager looked up with an annoyed expression on his face.  
  
"Uhh... Hi." He supposed he looked weird, he was wearing his mask and his wrestling outfit again.  
  
"You the Spider-Kid?" He asked, gesturing to the spider design on his shirt.  
  
"Uhhh. yeah." Peter answered.  
  
"Right. Here." The manager said. He handed him a check for 3000 dollars.  
  
"Yeah, uh, thanks a lot. This is really great." Peter said to the man.  
  
"Yeah, uh, you seemed to really impress the crowd. They're already calling you a celebrity. Why don't you come back again sometime, maybe be a regular? We'd love to have you again. You're really reeling in the crowds." He said.  
  
"Uh, yeah, sure." Peter said. He wasn't about to do this for free, it would cost him a lot of time trying to get out of the house for a couple hours without anyone noticing.  
  
"And uh, we could pay you 500 dollars per match, if you win." He said.  
  
Peter thought about it. It was a lot of money, and if he kept winning it would be a lot more.  
  
"Yeah sure, I'll come back." Peter said.  
  
"Great, and oh, kid, here, we got you this." He handed him a box addressed to Peter.  
  
"Oh great, what is it?" He opened the box and saw a blue and red uniform that looked like some kind of tight leotard.  
  
"That's your new uniform. You look kinda stupid in that. Hey kid, could you give me your number or address so I can contact you?"   
  
"Uhh... sorry, no can do. Part of the anonymous wrestling job." Peter said.  
  
"C'mon, I need some way to contact you." He said.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll find you. Just give me the schedule."   
  
He handed Peter a schedule of matches for the next month and Peter thanked him, putting it in his pocket.  
  
"Alright, see ya kid. Next match - tomorrow night, 8 PM, don't be late."   
  
"Right, thanks."  
  
Peter walked out of the office, looking over his new uniform. It looked like he finally had a job that paid well. That is, until he found that photography job he wanted in the city. Either way, this would pay the bills for the next few months. Peter put the costume back in it's box and headed for the exit. He looked up just in time to see some thug frantically running out of the cashier's office ahead of him. He could have easily caught the guy, but decided against it. It wasn't his problem if this place was robbed. Besides, that was the cops job, not his. He turned the other way and headed down a stairwell and outside, feeling absolutely wonderful.  
  
AN YAY Chapter 5! :) Please Review!! :) Thanks   
  
I'm having a lot of trouble uploading stuff lately, like I have it in a .doc or a .html or a .txt, and every time I upload it it tells me that it's not in any of those forms and I need to put it in that form!!! Argh!!! 


	6. Responsibility

6  
  
Peter walked out of the wrestling arena carrying his costume and his winnings. It was late now, about 9:30 PM. Aunt May and Uncle Ben would be worried sick. He moved into a jog and started to run towards the nearest subway. He decided that the subway would probably be packed, so he turned around and started swinging. He landed on a deserted building and pulled on the mask from his new costume. He then proceeded to swing the rest of the way home.  
  
---  
  
MJ looked out the Parkers window for any sign of Peter. Aunt May had asked if she'd like to come over for dinner, but Peter never showed up. In fact, they hadn't seen him since he was on stage. They were worried sick that he'd been kidnapped or worse. Mary Jane paced back and forth, Aunt May called various students and teachers, and Uncle Ben was reading the paper upside down. Finally, at about 10:15, the door burst open and in came Peter.   
  
"Hey Unc-"   
  
"Where have you been, Peter Parker?!" Uncle Ben leapt up from his chair and advanced on Peter.  
  
"Woah, uh... sorry I'm late... I saw this awesome job opportunity... see this uh, milk truck came by and I saw it and the guy in the window yelled at me and uh... He asked if I wanted a job and If I did to come with him and uh... it was too good to pass up, so I uh, went with him."  
  
Aunt May looked worried. Mary Jane looked calculating. Uncle Ben was furious.  
  
"You should have come to check in with us first!" He roared.  
  
As if on cue, MJ and Aunt May went outside the house.  
  
"It's MY life. I will do what I want to do." Peter said stubbornly.  
  
"As long as your under this roof..."  
  
"What? I have to follow your rules huh?" Peter rallied back.  
  
"Peter. I want you to understand." Uncle Ben took out a small shield pin. "This was from my college. I received it for the honesty and courage that I impressed upon others." He handed it to Peter. "It's very special, Pete."  
  
He took it, planning to just put it in his dresser anyway. "Understand what?" He put the pin in his pocket.  
  
"Your aunt and I just want what's best for you. We want you to be a good, honest person. Now I know you must feel confident, like you can handle everything on your own-"  
  
"I can!"  
  
"That's not the point, Peter, listen, you can become a great person Pete, its your choices that make the difference. You have the power to change the world, your smart and you know what you're doing."  
  
"Uncle Ben-"  
  
"With great power, Pete, comes great responsibility. You have the power Peter, and you can choose to do with it what you like. What your Aunt May and I are trying to tell you that your decisions affect the world around you."   
  
Peter rolled his eyes.   
  
"Not another lecture, listen, I'm FINE on my own, I don't need your help, who are you to tell me what to do?" Peter said angrily.  
  
Uncle Ben looked dissapointed.  
  
"Your right Peter. I can't. You're on your own. Just remember what I've said."  
  
"Right." Peter said and stomped upstairs.   
  
He could hear Mary Jane and Aunt May talking with Uncle Ben downstairs. Peter felt awful. He suddenly felt like the wrestling match wasn't worth all this. He just wanted some extra cash. Not this. He felt guilty for lashing out at Uncle Ben as he had, but he was too stubborn to go and admit he was wrong. He was just glad MJ didn't have to witness that scene.  
  
Peter heard the door open downstairs and figured it was probably MJ's dad or something. He heard some talking and some arguing. Something about it peaked his attention and he started to advance towards the door when he heard a loud, clear, gunshot. It rang about the house and the silence that followed was absolute. Peter crashed through his door at this and dashed down the stairs. He found the door wide open, MJ and Aunt May were in tears and Uncle Ben was lieing on the floor, a bullet hole straight through his chest. Peter ran down and fell to his knees next to Ben.  
  
"Uncle Ben?" He was now brimming with tears.  
  
"Peter..."   
  
"Uncle Ben, I'm, I'm so sorry.."   
  
"Peter!" Uncle Ben's hand grasped his. It seemed like one final attempt to grasp life. He stared into Peter with something that looked like happiness.  
  
"I'm proud of you, son..." He said. Peter was now holding his hand with both of his, and he was overcome with distress.   
  
"Ben?"   
  
The hand fell limp and his eyes seemed to stare past him, into another world none of them could see.  
  
Aunt May was now sobbing furiously, and Mary Jane was doing her best to comfort him.   
  
"MJ. Stay here with Aunt May. I'll be right back. Call the police."  
  
--  
  
Peter was now leaping from housetop to housetop in his new Spider-Man costume that he'd tweaked a bit. He'd added some webs and a spider to the costume to make it look more spider-like. He was never more confident in his abilities than he was now, he couldn't afford to not be. He was chasing after a group of police, who were in turn chasing Uncle Ben's car - except the killer was now driving it.  
  
Peter swung down lower to the ground and tried to land on it. He miraculously managed to flip onto the hood, but not before bullets started flying through the roof and nearly hit him. The amazing spider-sense warned him of danger, and Peter was able to dodge them easily. He webbed up the windshield of the car, hoping to make the guy crash. As they neared a construction site, Peter jumped off the car, which rolled into a ditch. The police were getting closer now, and Peter didn't want to be arrested, falseley accused of being an accomplice. Peter stealthily followed the killer out of the car and into a half built building in front of them. Peters keen night vision would be the advantage here, as the killer probably couldn't see a thing. Peter leapt onto the side of the building and crawled into a crumbling window. He saw the killer frantically running around the place looking for an escape. He obviously knew there were others here. Peter jumped out from his hiding place and swatted the guy with a series of punches. He stumbled backwards and pointed his gun at Peter.   
  
"Stay away! I'm warning you!"  
  
Peter webbed the gun away and swung down from the ceiling, kicking him to the ground.  
  
"Stop, please!"  
  
"Did you stop when my Uncle asked?" Peter said, furious.  
  
"Please!"  
  
Peter finally grabbed the guy, preparing to punch him again when he was lifted into the light and Peter's world froze in an instant.  
  
He remembered this guy.  
  
The wrestling arena...   
  
The thief...  
  
He escaped. Ran right past him. Peter, too arrogant and cocky, didn't do a thing.   
  
If he had, Uncle Ben would still be alive  
  
"No!" Peter cried out in anguish. It was all his fault. All. His. Fault. And to top it off, he had shouted at him.   
  
The thief took this oppurtunity and raised a two by four and swung it at Peter. Peter reacted immediately, ducked, and swung it the opposite way. The thief was hurled out of a window and landed fatally on the ground below.   
  
He looked down at the killer. Peter could not stay here another minute.   
  
---  
  
He was perched on top of the Empire State Building spire, staring down at the midnight city. His world, his reality, had come crashing down on him. It was his fault. If he hadn't been so stupid...  
  
"Uncle Ben... I'm so, so, sorry. I cost you your life."   
  
Peter put his head in his hands. He suddenly remembered the pin that Uncle Ben had given him.  
  
"Honor... courage..." He took the pin out and stared at it. It now held more meaning than he would ever know. He decided to put it somewhere where Uncle Ben could always see it. A remembrance.  
  
He webbed it to the top of the spire overlooking New York. No one would ever touch it, and Uncle Ben could watch the city all the time.  
  
"With great power, Pete, comes great responsibility," Those words rang back in his head. He stared at his hands. Great Power...   
  
I have great power. I could do something. I could change the world.   
  
"These powers... they aren't cooincidence, and they aren't dumb luck. I have these for a reason... and I swear on Uncle Ben's grave, I will use them to uphold responsibility." With that, Peter leapt from the building and swung back to his Queens household.  
  
--  
  
Peter returned to a gloomy home. The police had come and gone, and Aunt May was up all night sobbing. Peter comforted her until she fell asleep.   
  
"Aunt May..." He sighed as he headed for his room. He opened the door and saw Mary Jane sitting on his bed.  
  
"MJ..." Peter said.   
  
"Oh, Pete, I'm so sorry, so sorry..." She rushed into his arms and embraced him. He truly needed a moment like this to recover. If he ever would.  
  
"MJ..." There were no words. They didn't need any to explain the loss they were both feeling, especially on Peter's part.   
  
He swore that night to never use his powers for selfish reasons again. 


	7. SpiderMan

7  
  
Mary-Jane stepped off the train and onto the pavement. She looked around for some sign that there was a subway station around, but saw none nearby.  
  
Guess I'm walking.  
  
It was a chilly morning in New York City and it was MJ's first shot at a real audition. She was auditioning for a small part in a small TV show, but hey, everyone starts somewhere. She was hoping she'd be able to get off to a good start, make a good impression on the audience and the critics. She had dressed up a bit, not much, just a blue skirt and a white long sleeved shirt. She pulled her coat around her to avoid the cold and looked around nervously. She didn't want to be late, especially if she was going to make a lasting impression. She didn't want to be the girl who was late for her first audition. She passed a newspaper stand that people were flocking around, getting their morning paper to bring to work with them. She glanced a the cover of one of the tabloids and saw the blaring headline: "Masked super-hero saves twenty! Exclusive inside!"  
  
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. It seemed people would do anything to sell a paper these days.  
  
---  
  
Peter clambered in through the window of his room in the apartment he shared with Harry. He seriously considered telling Harry what had happened to him, but decided against it. It was too risky, if someone overheard, Harry let it slip, or if Harry decided he didn't like Peter with his new powers. Imagine that.   
  
Peter didn't keep the money he won. He felt like it was dirty money. Peter had sent the money to Aunt May, anonymously. As far as she knew, it was money from 'someone who cared.'   
  
He had been a celebrity wrestler for almost three days. After that, he didn't show up anymore. He couldn't. Not with the still fresh memory of Uncle Ben lingering in his mind. It had been almost a week and a half. He knew that Aunt May was distressed, but she was a strong woman. Peter admired her for this, he knew that Aunt May could make it through tough times. She always had, but she was alone now, and Peter worried every now and then. He still hadn't forgotten MJ either.  
  
MJ. Mary Jane.  
  
The way she had comforted him after he'd returned to the house. She was there, and she helped him. He loved her even more than ever now. Too bad she'd never know. She'd probably laugh at him.   
  
He hadn't forgotten his newfound powers and responsibility either. Uncle Ben's last wish was that Peter would use his power responsibly, and he was going to do just that. Since his death, he'd used his powers to help others. So far, he'd stopped a few muggings here and there, a bank robbery, an out of control train, and bunch of people on a tourist helicopter that went down. Now all he had to do was... pay the rent.   
  
He heard the door open and a slam as someone set something down.   
  
"Peter, you there?" It was Harry.   
  
"Yeah, hold on, I'm coming down..." Peter immediately buttoned up a collared shirt over his costume and shoved the mask and gloves in his pocket. He went downstairs and found Harry slouching on the couch, flipping channels and looking bored and tired.  
  
"Hey buddy. I was wondering, if you need a job, my father has a couple places that he could call..."  
  
"It's alright Harry. I can find something."  
  
"Well... alright Pete."  
  
"Well, I was... uh, going to save for college this fall. At the University." Peter said, looking around. He knew Harry had the money for college, but it didn't seem like it was an oppurtunity that Harry was particularly passionate about. Peter had received an academics scholarship for all around excellence in all his school courses.  
  
"Hey, that's great Pete. Listen, I uh, I'm gonna go out for a while. You know, just clear my head. Do you want me to pick anything up for you?"  
  
"Ummm.... no, I'm okay."   
  
"Right, see ya Pete.'' He stood up and pulled on his jacket. "Right, Bye Harry." Peter said. He heard the door shut and wondered why Harry had even bothered to come into the place anyway.  
  
"Okay, time to see about getting a job." He was just about to pull open the newspaper when a siren broke his train of thoughts.   
  
"Crap!" He jumped up and sprinted to his room upstairs. He frantically pulled his shoes and clothes off, pulling on his mask and gloves. He looked around his room quickly, "Crap, where is my other glove?!" He spotted it on the stairs and dashed over to it. He then took off out the window, firing a webline in the direction of the sirens. He spotted the police cars just ahead of him. He figured they were following a call and swung ahead of them. He looked around for any sign of danger and finally saw some thug taking off with what looked like a student's bag. He reached the top of his swing and soared through the air, landing just in front of the thug.  
  
"Aw c'mon, no running on school grounds bud," Peter said.  
  
"Get away from me you freak!" The thug tried to run across the road to get away from Spider-Man but didn't get far when he stopped and felt a sticky substance grabbing at him from behind.   
  
"What the hell?!" He was reeled backwards and received a kick from Spider-Man as he fell to the ground, limp.   
  
"Ugh... c'mon, gimme a break..." The thug cried. "Sorry, I'm out of Kit Kats for now," He joked, and webbed the guy to a street light. He turned around, looking for the lady that lost the bag. His eyes fell on a girl who was peering from behind a wall.  
  
"Uhh... here's your bag, Miss..." Spider-Man said, handing her the backpack. She looked like she was at least 19 or 20, a student in college most likely. She had long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. She stared at him like a little kid would his hero, and smiled gratefully.  
  
"...Thankyou... Spider-Man!" She said as he leapt into the air and swung away.  
  
--  
  
Mary Jane walked out of the audition office, somewhat less than satisfied. She wasn't sure if she'd gotten the part, but they'd said they would call her and let her know. Like that was a good sign. She was feeling particularly lonely and longed for a friendly face. She wondered if Peter was around, he'd said he was moving into the city with Harry. She hadn't spoken to him since his Uncle's death.   
  
It was almost noon, and MJ had no intention of getting home. She didn't have work today, which was somewhat of a relief. She hoped she'd feel the same way when the bills started coming in.   
  
--  
  
Spider-Man was swinging back towards his apartment when he spotted a familiar red-head walking down the crowded New York streets. She looked a little down, and he wondered if something had happened to her. He swung into an alley and quickly changed back into his street clothes, which he'd been leaving all over the city. He really needed to stop doing that.   
  
He ran out of the alley just in time to see her pass him.  
  
"MJ! Hey MJ!" He caught her just in time. "Peter!" She turned and smiled brightly. She hoped she didn't look too happy to see him.  
  
"Hey, I uh, how're you?" He said, Great move, Pete... He thought bitterly.  
  
"Oh me? I'm fine. I... haven't seen you in a while, Pete. I missed you." He found himself blushing. She had missed him!  
  
"Me too... MJ. Hey, do you wanna grab some dinner or something? I have a shift later today, but d'you, I mean, I don't know, you probably have things to do..."  
  
"No, Pete, I'd love to."  
  
"Really? Awesome! Hey, I'll come by your apartment later, where d'you live?"   
  
"Oh, right, here," She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "That's the place."  
  
"Alright... great! Okay, I gotta go now, but I'll see you at around 6:30 or so, okay?"   
  
"Great! Bye Peter." She said, waving to him. He turned around and jogged off.  
  
--  
  
With the prospect of actually going out for dinner with the love of his life, and her actually agreeing to go with him, it was no wonder he'd shown up 15 minutes late to his job at the coffee shop. Luckily, the manager was out on a lunch break and no one noticed except one of the girls who worked there. She smiled at him and waved him into the store.  
  
"Hey there, are you new here?" She asked. She looked oddly familiar...and it hit him. It was the girl he'd saved only hours before. The blonde student.  
  
"Oh... yeah, I am. I'm Peter Parker." He smiled and put out his hand, and she shook it.  
  
"Gwen Stacy. If you need any help, you can ask me. I'm not an expert or anything, but I've been around here a couple months." She turned and went to wash out a measuring cup in the sink.  
  
"Oh... okay. Thanks." He smiled awkwardly and looked around. There weren't any customers. The scene seemed pretty tense. He didn't really know what to say to her, since he didn't know her at all, and the silence was unnerving.  
  
"Umm... are you, from around here? In the city?" She asked him. Thank goodness.  
  
"Oh, uh, yeah, I actually just moved in. I'm going to go to NYU this fall, so I'll be around."  
  
"Really? That's awesome! I go there too, but I'm trying to do some studies this summer also. I needed this job to y'know, pay my rent and all..." She leaned against the counter and looked around. "It's quiet today."  
  
"Yeah... I suppose..." She giggled at this remark, and Peter looked at her, curiously.  
  
"You're cute."   
  
He found himself blushing, not knowing why. Maybe because he'd never been called 'cute' by a girl before. Except his Aunt May, maybe, but that didn't really count.   
  
---  
  
Five hours and hundreds of dish cleaning later, Peter finally got out of the cafe, waved good-bye to Gwen, and walked out. It was getting dark out and he hoped he'd be able to find MJ's apartment. He followed her directions and after about twenty minutes of walking around, found a building that seemed to be the right number.  
  
"Okay. Don't be nervous, you'll be fine Pete." He straightened his tie and patted his hair down, walking towards the building. Just before he touched the door handle, the familiar sound of police sirens roared behind him.  
  
"Oh no, not now, come on, gimme a break, please..." He closed his eyes and sighed. Duty was duty. He'd have a lot of explaining to do later. He took off at a sprint and ran into the nearest alley, pulling on his mask, leaping into the air and swinging after the cars.  
  
--  
  
MJ waited in her apartment. It was 6:28. She looked out her window and smiled brightly. Peter was under her window, coming up to the door. He reached out for the handle and hesisitated. She frowned and wondered why he wasn't going in. A downcast look fell over his face and he looked around as if looking for something, or someone. He then turned on his heel and sprinted out of there, into the darkness. She was suprised and concerened. Peter had never walked out on her before. Maybe he was afraid, or maybe he went to make reservations.  
  
"Peter..." She whispered. She sat down on her bed and waited to see if he'd return.  
  
A/N: This chapter was probably a little boring. Sorry! please RR! Next chappie up soon, probably tomorrow. :) 


	8. Difficulties

Spider-Man swung down towards a man escaping on foot. How he thought he'd outrun a car, Peter had no idea. Spider-Man swung down in front of the man and frowned. It was an old guy.  
  
"Scuse me sir, but I'll have to ask you to return that uh, bag of yours." Peter said. He suspected the man had jewels or money in there. The man smiled, and proceeded to hand him the bag when he suddenly turned on his heel and started running.  
  
"Ugh, why can' t they just give up? No one can ever outrun me anyway. Sigh." Peter ran after the man but not before a shower of bullets headed his way.  
  
"Woah!" He twirled in midair to avoid an assault of about twenty bullets all headed straight for him.  
  
"Um, hello?! I just caught the thief?! I'm trying... to... help!" He managed to spit out. The cops weren't listening. He couldn't keep dodging these for long.   
  
"Freeze Spider-Man! Put your hands up!" The cops stopped firing. Shoot ask questions later, great notion, NYPD.   
  
"Sorry, I've got a thief to catch, later," He put his hands up as ordered, but shot a webline up and dissapeared over the rooftops. By then, the thief was long gone. He couldn't believe it. An old man managed to escape because the cops decided to kill the one guy whose saved their butts constantly for the last four months. He looked down at the newspaper stands and spotted the front headline.  
  
"Spider-Man: Menace!" It shouted to all of New York City.  
  
"Well no wonder. I'm going to have a talk with this guy." He jumped down, pulled out some coins and took a newspaper, returning to his perch on the rooftop. He opened the paper. It went on and on about how he was a menace whose sole intent was to destroy New York and it's citizens.  
  
"What?! Who came up with this crap?!" He looked at the publishers name.  
  
"J. Jonah Jameson?" He went on to read about how ''freaks'' like him can't be allowed to just run around Manhattan all day doing whatever. The only picture of him was a tiny black dot in the distance.  
  
"What? That isn't even me." He stared at it, raising an eyebrow and laughed. Great photography job, guys. It's a bird. I've never even seen that building. Peter laughed and noticed an ad on the bottom.  
  
Reward! Pictures of Spider-Man!  
  
"Hmm... now this could work...."   
  
..--..--..--..--..  
  
MJ had resigned to laying on her bed with the television remote. She glanced at the clock to her right. 7:20. He was almost an hour late. He had been there! She had seen him right there under her window. She couldn't help but feel infuriated that he'd stood her up like that. Chickened out at the last minute. What, was she some kind of monster that he was afraid would eat him? Was that it? Cooties, maybe? What else would drive him away!?   
  
Not a second later, she heard a knocking on the door. She sighed and stood up, looking through the peephole. She saw the back of Peters head, he was probably looking for some kind of escape route. She opened the door reluctantly and stared at him, her arms crossed, looking expectant.  
  
"MJ... I am so sorry I'm late... you see, I forgot that I had to pick up some things for... Aunt May... Listen, I'm really sorry..." He looked hopefully up at her.  
  
Her expression changed to one of hurt. "Peter, you said you would be here at 6:30!" She said softly.  
  
"I'm really really sorry MJ..." He pleaded with her, hoping she would forgive him.  
  
"Peter, you are really sweet. I'm sorry, I'm sure you had something else to do anyway."   
  
"No, MJ that's not it, I just had to quickly do something. I still want to go out with you." He realized one second to late that it sounded like he was asking her out instead of going to dinner as friends.  
  
"Really? Well... okay Pete." She said, obviously either missing or failing to respond to the last few words he'd said. She wondered if Peter really had to run an errand, or if he was lieing because he was some where else. No.... he wouldn't lie... Peter wouldn't.   
  
---  
  
Peter passed by the cafe he worked at while looking for a place to eat with MJ. It seemed that he was going to be going out for food a lot, seeing as how he wasn't a great cook and he wouldn't know where to start with making food anyway. All he really knew how to make was eggs. Just put them outside in the middle of July.   
  
"Peter, who's that?" MJ asked from his side. She was pointing to his left, and he looked over his shoulder and saw Gwen waving at him from inside the cafe. She was obviously working the night shift as well. She seemed to be closing up, and was smiling at him and mouthing "hey". He waved back and continued on.  
  
"Um... that was just a girl I work with."  
  
"Oh." MJ replied. There was an awkward silence between them. He didn't want MJ to think that he liked this girl, considering the fact that he secretly loved Mary Jane with all his heart. The only real problem was that he was a secretive guy, he didn't always let people know how much he cared. Harry obviously knew him well enough to figure out his infatuation with MJ long before he even thought about telling Harry.  
  
"Peter, what about here?" She pointed to a chinese restaurant. It didn't look too expensive, Peter was worried about spending too much and not being able to pay his rent. But if it was for MJ, he'd do anything.  
  
---  
  
"Peter, I haven't really talked to you in a while." She said suddenly. It was a little random and unexpected, and Peter didn't quite know how to react.  
  
"Oh... well, I've been a little busy, I've been trying to find a job..."   
  
"I see... I um, wanted to tell you... I auditioned... for a small part in something. I wanted to let you know. You've really helped me out Pete, I never thought I'd really make it as an actress." She said as they sat down in a booth.   
  
"That's awesome MJ! I know you'll do really well, you always have." He said, genuinely happy. He wanted MJ to have all of her dreams come true.  
  
"Yeah... you're different from everyone else, Peter. Thankyou." She said, smiling.  
  
"Well... you're welcome MJ. Hey, I think I've found a job as well." He said, remembering the ad in the paper.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, I saw an ad for a photographer for the daily bugle. I think I'm gonna go for it." He said.  
  
"Really? Peter, that's great. A photographer for the biggest paper in New York City! What are you going to take?"  
  
"Huh?" He asked.  
  
"What are you going to take pictures of," She repeated. Peter wasn't very comftoratable discussing his alter-ego with MJ, in case it aroused suspicion. What?! What am I thinking? Everyones talking about Spidey. I'm just another guy. Who uh, happens to be him.  
  
"Oh. Um, Spider-Man."   
  
She laughed. He expected as much, not that it was a bad thing.  
  
"Peter, are you sure he's not just a hoax to sell papers? I've never seen any masked super being running around New York." She said, with a hint of laughter in her voice.  
  
"Oh, well I uh, actually saw him the other day, he's real, that's for sure."  
  
"Seriously, Peter? I didn't want to believe it. It's just too amazingly unbelievable." She said.  
  
"Yeah, it is, but it's real. I took a few pictures of him, I'm going to try sending them in to the newspaper and see what they think."   
  
"Wow Pete, you could hit it big with this." She said.  
  
"I'm hoping that's what'll happen, otherwise I'll be screwed when my electric bill rolls around."   
  
...--....--....--..  
  
Mary Jane left Peter at about 8:45. She told him she needed to get home early so she could get up early for her shift at the diner. She hadn't told him where she worked, of course, she didn't want Peter to think she was giving up on her dream. He'd be so dissapointed. She wasn't giving up, she'd never give up. She just needed this job for a while to get her started.   
  
Being with Peter made her forget all her problems. It was weird, she was usually found drifting to the troubles in her life during conversations, but Peter made her forget all of that and she was focused only on him. She felt a growing attraction to him, and she welcomed it with open arms. She didn't quite know how she felt about him right now, It was a little too confusing.  
  
"I'll think about it later..." She sighed. She dug in her pockets and pulled out six crumpled dollar bills. Enough to get her partially to her apartment. She ran up to the curb and tried to hail a cab.  
  
"Taxi," She said, calling out to one. It sped right past her. Maybe it's too dark, she thought.  
  
"It's alright, we'll help you home." She heard a gruff voice speaking from behind her.  
  
"Thanks, but I can find my own way." She said, turning back to the road.  
  
"No, we wouldn't want a lady like you walking around New York City at night, it's dangerous." Another couple of guys came up beside her, closing her in.  
  
"Excuse me, I need to-"  
  
"Quiet!" One of the guys grabbed her and clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled and kicked at them, but to no avail. They dragged her into a darkened alleyway and she screamed as loud as she could. One of them pulled out a gun and shoved it into her side.  
  
"Get out your money, lady,"   
  
"Please, I don't have much," She cried. It was hopeless. One of them was going for her jacket when all of the sudden they went flying backwards. She shut her eyes as tight as she could to brace for the impact of a gunshot or a punch, until she noticed there was none. She opened her eyes and saw the thugs struggling on the ground, they looked tied up. She marveled at the miraculous event that'd just taken place. She was saved by some strange force! She wasted no time, and dashed out of the alleyway. She ran in front of a cab to force it to stop, jumped in, and got the guy to drive as fast as he could to her place.  
  
---  
  
Spider-Man was crouched on top of a fire escape above the alley that MJ was just dragged into. He had reacted like lightning, easily webbing up the criminals and knocking them out cold with balls of webbing. She was suprised to see that no one was there, but she left as soon as she was snatched off of the pavement and was safely driven home in a cab. This was one thing he didn't regret about being Spider-Man: if he wasn't, people like MJ would be hurt. He had no money after the dinner with her, although she had insisted on paying, he refused and payed for the both of them. He didn't regret it one bit, if it was for MJ. He could always swing home, while she had little money for a cab.   
  
---  
  
Mary Jane was home later that night, brushing her hair and reminiscing on the evenings events. She wondered how in the world she'd survived that encounter with that gang. She figured that they probably fell back because there were people passing by, or something to that effect. She tied her red hair up into a bun and turned out her light, tucking into bed. She dreamed of Peter saving her from a man holding her at gunpoint...  
  
---  
  
Peter, as Spider-Man, sat against a wall he was sticking to across the road from MJ's apartment. He'd watched her come into her room and turn out her light. He wanted to see how she was doing, and also, he felt at ease when he saw her. He wanted to make sure she got home safely, so he followed her. Watching her sleep was like watching an angel on a cloud. He loved her so much, it took all of his strength to not just swing into her apartment and declare his love for her right there. He sighed. He pulled up his sleeve and checked his watch: 10:43. He'd better get home if he was planning on turning in pictures for this J.J. Jameson fellow.  
  
----  
  
a/n - tell me what you think so far! r/r! :) thanks! 


	9. Realization

Ch 9  
  
"What is this crap?!"   
  
Sigh. Peter was currently trying to convince the Daily Bugle's editor J. Jonah Jameson that this picture was indeed of Spider-Man saving a woman from a band of thugs.  
  
"Terrible. Robbie! Run this on page one." Page one?! His first picture ever and it was already front page worthy?   
  
"Alright kid. I'll hire you if you continue to bring in more of these pictures. Don't let me down. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Bring me more photos - here, I'll give you 150 for the lot of them." Peter frowned. He was expecting something along the lines of 300-500 dollars.  
  
"That's a little low." He said suggestively.  
  
"Fine! 200 dollars-"   
  
"250!" Peter called out.  
  
Jameson stared at him for a moment, looking a little comical. He unfroze and threw his arms up. "Fine! Come back tomorrow with more photos! Oh, by the way, run by the city council meeting and take pictures of the council members arriving - for some extra pay. Now get out of my office," Jameson said. He picked up the ringing phone and started yelling at some guy on the other line.   
  
Peter was a little less than satisfied, but he supposed this would do for now at least. He hoped he'd get a permanent job there, otherwise it'd be a while before he found anything other than cleaning dishes.   
  
..---....---....---..  
  
Mary Jane was fed up. She couldn't stand the diner manager, the customers complained non stop, the working conditions were awful, and cities trash as co-workers was driving her insane.   
  
"Hey baby, what's you say you and me-" MJ rolled her eyes and ran out of the kitchen with a tray before some low life could hit on her. She set the tray down and smiled. This is where being an actress comes in handy.  
  
"Is there anything else you need today?" She asked the plump woman receiving her three plates of food.  
  
"What! I asked for extra frosting on these cinnabuns, there's only the regular amount! I refuse to pay for this, get your kitchen to remake it and remake it right!" The lady flung the plate across the table." Mary Jane held her hands behind her back. It was all she could to do keep herself from punching the woman. Now, because of some lady who could use a little lightening up, MJ would have to stay behind and explain to Enrique, her boss, why the customer had thrown food everywhere and she had to stay 15 minutes late to clean it up. The people in the booth next to her looked like they could have a refill. Another one of the workers had gotten down and was cleaning up the mess, for which she was grateful. It was Frank, the one guy who agreed with how terrible the workplace was here. He was about her age and he was a kind person, at least, the kindest you'd find around here.  
  
"...developed eight arms...incredible! I mean...yes...of course... we'll recover them..." She overheard one of the customers on a cell phone. Must be talking about some zoo animal. She plopped another drink down on the table and the man didn't seem to notice. She checked her watch. 10:34 am. Only three more hours...  
  
---  
  
Peter was frantically trying to make it to his job at the cafe on time for once. He was webslinging as fast as he could from one side of New York to the next. After spotting the cafe hundreds of feet below him, he swung into an alley and quickly changed into his regular clothes. He ran into the store and saw Gwen giving someone a sandwich and the guy who's shift just ended, leaving. Gwen looked up and smiled brightly.  
  
"Hey Pete, your just in time, Steve was just leaving,"   
  
"Great," Peter said. If there was one thing that was frustrating about his job it was that he had to constantly leave the cafe for ten or twenty minutes at a time if there was a crime around.  
  
The door rang and Peter turned around to see a burly man of about 50 walking up to the cash register. He looked stern, and was wearing a cop uniform. Cops always made Peter nervous, now more than ever. He always wondered if they had somehow pinpointed who he was and were there to take him in or something.  
  
"Gwen!" The man said, and to Peter's utter surprise, she turned around and hugged him, smiling. For a one fleeting instant, he came to the conclusion that it was her... boyfriend, until-  
  
"Daddy!" She exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well I'm on my break, aren't I allowed to see my only daughter during the day?" He said, kissing her cheek.  
  
"Oh, sorry, daddy, this is Peter Parker. He's going to NYU also." She said, "Peter, this is my dad, George." She said.   
  
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Peter said, shaking his hand.   
  
"Ah, got tired of Sam, Gwen?" Captain Stacy said jovially.  
  
She playfully slapped his shoulder, "Dad, that was a long time ago, and Peter and I aren't together." She said, eyeing Peter questioningly at those last words.  
  
---  
  
After MJ finally got out of work, she decided to go by the audition office to see if they had any more openings. She wasn't sure how she'd done on the last one, so she thought it was a good idea. She realized that she was on the same street that Peter's cafe was on, so she thought, well, why not get some coffee there?   
  
It was weird, all of the sudden she wanted to see Peter all the time. She'd never been like that with anyone else before.   
  
---  
  
Gwen's dad had just left with a take-out coffee, and Peter began to feel nervous. He wasn't stupid, he could tell that Gwen was trying to flirt with him. She kept giving him weird looks, like she was waiting for him to say something about it.   
  
"Peter?" She said. Oh crap. Here it comes. He didn't konw why he felt so afraid fo what she could say, maybe because he knew he'd have to turn her down. He loved Mary Jane.  
  
"Uh, yeah Gwen?" He said, trying to sound oblivious.  
  
"Can you give me a hand with this?" She said, gesturing to the food that needed to be put into the display boxes.  
  
"Oh, sure," He said, slightly relieved. He put some of the things away, and when his shift was almost up, she came back to him.  
  
"Peter... I... well, I really like you... and well, my dad and this big company are having a dinner party to celebrate a new breakthrough in some technology advance... and I don't want to go alone, could you come with me?" She said.   
  
Yep. She was asking him out. Or was she? They could go as friends, couldn't they?   
  
"Yeah, alright Gwen, sounds fun." He said. He raised his eyebrows slightly when she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. Luckily, she didn't notice, or just decided not to question it.  
  
---  
  
MJ was walking toward the cafe, when she looked up and squinted. It couldn't be, could it? She looked through the window and saw Peter, and a girl. Some blonde girl who worked there, she supposed. Peter seemed to be gathering up his things, when she put a hand on his shoulder. He picked up his coat, and she came back over again, this time, she said something to him and kissed him on the cheek. MJ immediately froze right there.   
  
Peter has a girlfriend?!  
  
Since when?   
  
No, I would've known, it must just be a close... friend...  
  
Don't be stupid MJ. You were too late, you let him go.  
  
Why am I so bothered by this?  
  
As she walked away from the cafe and out of sight, she whispered the barely audible words to herself, the realization dawning on her.  
  
"Because I love him..." 


	10. Frustration

Peter got home that night still thinking over his decision to go with Gwen. He felt a little guilty, like he wasn't supposed to be dating someone with MJ around.   
  
"What? MJ probably only sees me as a friend anyway," He said to himself. "I should've just said no, I know something's gonna happen. She'll get the wrong idea." He said, sighing. He really liked Gwen, just not on a romantic level. Mary Jane was the one for him, whether she loved him back or not.   
  
"Petey, you gotta move on. You can't wait around your whole life." He said to himself. "Fine, I'll just go to this thing with her, but I'm not going to do anything else with her unless I decide I really like her." He threw his coat on the ground and pulled out his spidey mask.   
  
"I think a good swing around the city will help me burn off some steam."   
  
---  
  
Gwen paced back and forth in the cafe. It was close to closing time, almost 10:30. She leaned against the counter and thought again about Peter Parker. There was something about him that she liked. Maybe it was the nerdiness, or the awkwardness, or the graciousness that he had. She hadn't asked him if he had a girlfriend, but then, she assumed someone like him wouldn't. Hopefully that would change, she thought. She really felt differently about him, unlike any other guy before. Gwen began to turn out the lights and wondered what the upcoming dinner party would be like with Peter.   
  
---  
  
It took a while until Peter realized where he was heading. This was the street that Mary Jane lived on. He felt like a stalker, following her all the time. He swung up and landed on the same building across the street from her apartment window. He stuck to the side, facing forwards and holding on with his fingertips and feet. She was reading a book with her back to him. He squinted, but could not make out what book it was. Finally, she threw it on the floor in frustration. She stood up and walked around, as if looking for something to take her anger out on. She walked towards her telephone and picked it up as it rang. She frowned into the receiver and looked like she was in the middle of an important conversation. She sat down on the bed and twirled the cord around her fingers. She then broke into that million-watt smile and seemed to laugh, after saying a good-bye and placing the phone back on her desk. It pained Peter immensely to sit here, watching her. He wondered if they would ever be together, but then brushed that off. He knew that his friend, Harry, had a crush on her too, although nowhere near the intensity of Peter's love for her. Harry was everything any girl would ever want, and Peter, well, he was the braniac with barely enough money to pay half his bills. She sighed, and collapsed on her bed. She looked troubled, and Peter saw a single shimmering tear roll down her cheek as she closed her eyes. Peter instinctively raised his hand to fire a webline over to her apartment, but stopped. Spider-Man hadn't even met Mary Jane before, she would be terrified if some weirdo in tights appeared in her apartment balcony. He watched her for a moment, until she finally pulled her covers out and turned out her light. Peter felt awful. Mary Jane was distressed and there was no one there for her. He didn't want to disturb her as Peter Parker if he came barging in at 11 PM, so he decided to come see her first thing the next morning.  
  
---  
  
Mary Jane lay in bed thinking about Peter, again. She thought of Peter and the blonde girl and another tear fell from her green eyes. She always thought that she would be able to end up with Peter, like something out of a fairy tale. She hadn't anticipated this.   
  
To top it off, Harry had just called asking if she wanted to go to some party his fathers company was having. She accepted, as she usually did. It was better to have fun with a friend then sit alone and mope around because Peter had a girlfriend. Mary Jane wasn't used to being turned down. On the contrary, the guys usually asked her out and she was the one to say yes. Peter was different - she loved him because he loved her for who she was and not what she was. Had he forgotten her so quickly? Or had he never loved her to begin with?   
  
---  
  
"What! Some escaped hospital patient and you're telling me we don't have pictures!?" Jameson roared. The entire office barely noticed, it had become the norm of the bugle to have an enraged Jameson shouting at some poor employee.   
  
"Well... Mr. Jameson, I wasn't anywhere near there, and it was the middle of the night..." Peter tried to explain. He didn't even know what Jameson was talking about, much less a hospital break out. All he knew was that he'd called Peter at the crack of dawn demanding that he get into the bugle pronto.  
  
"Well get down there and get some pictures of the aftermath! Ben Urich will go with you and get an exclusive, Ben!"  
  
"Yeah?" He said, popping in through the door.   
  
"Get down to the hospital and get an interview with the doctors present last night. Bring Parker with you, and make sure he gets pictures!" Peter and Ben exchanged uneasy glances, and Jameson waved them out of the office.  
  
---  
  
Peter jumped in the passenger seat of Ben's car and felt elevated as Ben got in the other side. He was actually working with a real reporter in his first three to four weeks at this place. He felt like the little amateur next to this guy.  
  
"Uh, Ben? Do you know anything about this?" Peter asked tentatively.  
  
"Just what I heard from across the office. Apparently some scientist broke out of a hospital during the night. The doctors were working on him, some kind of surgery. We'll find out more when we get there." He said. Ben obviously was almost as confused as Peter.  
  
---  
  
Mary Jane felt like a jealous fool. She was on her way to the cafe that Peter worked at so she could hopefully see what this girl was like. That is, assuming she was working there right now. She spotted it around the corner and jogged across the street and up to the cafe.   
  
"Hah," She said triumphantly. She was there. She must work around the clock, this girl. Mary Jane opened the door and walked in. She supposed she could get breakfast here, if they served it.  
  
"Hi there," The girl said to MJ as she walked in. Mary Jane tried not to look annoyed and instead used her skills as an actress to plaster the perfect smile on her face and answer with a cheerful, "Hello!" As she sat herself down near the window.  
  
"My names Gwen, How can I help you this morning?" The girl said, approaching MJ with a notepad. Gwen, eh?  
  
By leaving my guy alone.   
  
My guy?!  
  
"Ummm.... Can I get some french toast? And... a cup of coffee, would be great, thanks." MJ said, quickly making something up, hoping they even had french toast.   
  
"Alright, It'll be right up,"  
  
"Ugh, what am I doing? I should be happy that Peter found someone." She whispered to herself.  
  
She watched Gwen go into the kitchens with her order and sighed.   
  
"Sometimes I can be so pathetic it's hardly funny." She said, watching the traffic out the window.  
  
A/N: I feel like this chapter was a little short, so I'll try to lengthen the next one to make up for it. Sorry that not much happened! I had to put all this stuff somewhere!   
  
Thanks for all the reviews and suggestions! :) R/R please!  
  
Also, sorry if chapters are up slow, I've got some other fics that I'm doing at the same time now so I might be a little later than usual... 


	11. Doctor Octopus

Ch 11   
  
A/N- Thanks for the reviews, guys! Also, thanks pokey, It was Ben. Writing at 11 PM definately screws up my memory...   
  
...--....--....--....--.....  
  
After being cleared by the police, Ben and Peter ducked under the yellow tape and entered the hospital building. Most of it was still normal, people bustling in and out, patients waiting for their appointments. The eleventh floor was where the breakout had been, and how someone managed to break out of an eleven story guarded hospital room was beyond them. They steadily climbed the stairs with an escort of two cops who insisted on coming with them, for no apparent reason, maybe to make sure they didn't mess around in the bombsite in the OR.   
  
"Well, here it is, fella's" One of the cops said, showing them to a room at the end of the hall.   
  
"Do you have any security cameras?" Ben asked, taking out his notepad. "Yes, we do. But they were damaged, we haven't seen much of anything except for the guy getting operated on, and then something hitting it. Apparently the doctors were using some kind of machinery in there that must've gone haywire, and no one told us."   
  
"Hm, seem's awfully lucky that the camera's just happen to break hours before the patient himself high tails it out of there," Peter muttered. Ben heard this and laughed.  
  
"Right, let's take a look inside," Ben stepped forward and pushed open the ajar door. It was quite a picture, Peter thought, as he snapped photos of the scene. The operating table was pushed over and the cords from the heart monitor were pulled out and scattered on the floor. The hanging lights from the ceiling had snapped and there were shards of glass all over the floor. They stepped further into the room and Ben surveyed it carefully, jotting a few things down in his notebook.   
  
"Well this'll be a hell of a story, Pete." Ben said, chuckling.   
  
-------  
  
Mary Jane walked out of the cafe and sat down on the steps. She felt awful. She had a headache and the thought of Peter with Gwen was irritating. Mostly because she'd finally found a guy she really loved, and she couldn't have him because of one blonde cafe girl. MJ knew she should be happy, but It was too hard when she loved Peter so much, and after just realizing it it was even harder. If only she'd told him, she thought.  
  
"Mary Jane?"   
  
She lifted her head up and saw Harry Osborn leaning out of his sleek black limousine. What was he doing around here?  
  
"Oh, Hi Harry." She said somberly.  
  
Harry seemed to notice her sullen attitude and wondered for an instant if she'd gotten in a fight with someone.  
  
"MJ... d'you want me to come with you to get something for tonight?" He said. Oh, that, she thought. She'd completely forgotten. Harry had called last night asking if she'd come to some party for his father's company. It was tonight, and she didn't have anything to wear.  
  
"Oh, well umm.." She thought for a moment. She was perfectly capable of getting something herself, but she didn't want to dwell on Peter for too long.  
  
"Alright Harry."   
  
"Well come on, get in!" He said cheerfully, opening the door for her. "Jared? Can you get to Macy's?" Harry asked. The traffic was horrid, it would take at least 30 minutes.  
  
"I'll do what I can, Mr. Osborn."  
  
Mary Jane smiled. It was good having Harry around, he didn't remind her of Peter in the least.   
  
"Oh, Harry, but I need to be back at 1 for..." She paused. Saying she was going to work would sound so typical of her, and Harry would probably dissaprove. "...an audition." She finished.  
  
"Oh, great, that's fine, MJ." He said. She wondered if Harry expected them to get together, or something. She hoped not.  
  
=====  
  
Peter was recapping his camera lense and asked Ben if he could get out next to the cafe he worked at. He still had an hour before he had to be there, but with him, you never knew. He turned the corner just in time to see MJ getting into some limousine. Someone was helping her in, a guy. He saw the familiar license plate and realized it was Harry's car.   
  
"Dammit!" He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He knew that Harry would get to her. But then, why was he acting so concerned? It's not like he wasn't doing the same thing, even though him and Gwen were only friends at the very most.  
  
Suddenly his spider-sense went off and he sighed. He never got a break these days, did he? He trudged over to the nearest alleyway and changed into Spider-Man, swinging after the danger. He landed on a rooftop near the trouble and peered over, surveying the situation. He knew better than to just barrel in there with no idea of how to stop this. He frowned as he looked at the scene - It seemed that a bank was being robbed, the glass was broken and the alarm was blasting, but the weird thing was that the cops were fleeing.   
  
"So much for New York's finest," He muttered, and jumped off the building, landing on the pavement. People were running all around him, screaming. He raised an eyebrow and almost chuckled for the fact that there wasn't anything he could see in sight. He approached the broken window and leapt in.   
  
"It's up to you Spidey!" One of the cops said. He felt a little heartened. It seemed like Jameson hadn't gotten to everyone just yet.  
  
He squinted, straining to see anything different about this place. He didn't see anyone in here.   
  
"Well. False alarm, I spose-" He was cut short as something that felt like an 800 pound bag of bricks hit him in the side, sending him flying across the room and through the wall, into the store next door. He lay there for a second, taken totally by suprise. His spider-sense was now buzzing constantly, and he knew this wasn't just another crime.   
  
He steadily stood up and regained his composure, crouching on the ground. Then he heard it, a "clank," sound. He hopped forward and peered around the corner, His eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. Standing - no, suspended there, was a man clad in a green overcoat with a porridge bowl haircut and sunglasses. The most hideous thing about him was that he had four mechanical arms protruding from his back. Peter almost gasped aloud at this, when he noticed that the guy had wheeled around and was staring threatenangly at him.   
  
"Hey there, peaches," Spider-Man said, waving jovially. Two of the mechanical arms stretched forward, reaching for him at topspeed and Peter jumped out of the way just in time, thanks to his spider-sense.   
  
"I don't have time for this," The man said. Two of the arms lifted him up, the others came flying down straight at Spider-Man, who ducked and rolled under them. The man began stalking off, carrying three bags filled with cash in his real limbs. He climbed out the window to be met by a surrounding squad of cops all aiming guns at him. The man simply smiled and shook his head, whipping one of his arms forward, knocking all the guns out of their hands and smashing the side of one police car.   
  
"Put your hands up!" One of the cops yelled, as the others pulled spare pistols out from utility belts. The man responded by linking three of his limbs to the side of a building and to everyone's shock, he began to climb it. Spider-Man leapt out of the window and chased after the man who was now rapidly ascending to the rooftops.   
  
"Okay, now that is so my trick," He said, and the man responded by using the remaining limb to try and wave him off. Spider-Man shot a series of weblines, trying to trap the mechanical arms, but he simply whipped them aside.   
  
"Right, I need a new plan," Peter muttered. To top it all off, the cops started shooting at the man, who again used his arms to deflect the bullets. It seemed like they were made of some impenetrable alloy.  
  
"Spider-Man!" One of the cops yelled. Peter peered over the building to see several potentally fatal wounded officers. He looked back at the man with the cash. Peter shook his head. "Spidey we need help, please help get these men to the hospital, our cars are busted!" The cop said. The man took advantage of the distraction and beat Peter off the side of the building with one of his arms. Spidey fell for a few seconds until he fired another webline, catching himself before he too needed to get to a hospital.  
  
"Sorry... lives are more important than catching thieves," Spider-Man said. A couple of the cops smiled graciously. It seemed like they were finally accepting him.   
  
Peter hoisted two of the guys up and held them on his back. He jumped up and fired a webline, swinging towards the nearest hospital. They were both unconscious, which he supposed was good. A couple of screaming cops on his back would definately not be good for his image.   
  
----  
  
"How about this one, Miss Watson?" A store clerk asked, fingering a blue dress. It was knee length and had no sleeves. MJ thought it was pretty, until Harry guided her away from that one, pointing to a more expensive one.  
  
"Harry, please, I don't need the best, just a dress that'll do for tonight." She said.   
  
"I know, MJ. You'd look stunning in anything, anyways," He finished.  
  
Mary Jane finally settled on a simple-looking but stylish white floor length dress with thin white straps. The white fabric curled to the back and connected, where two flowing peices of fabric fell to the floor.   
  
"Wow, MJ, nice choice," Harry said approvingly. She approached the check out counter and pulled out her wallet.   
  
"Oh, no need, Mary Jane, it's on me," Harry said, taking out his credit card. Mary Jane didn't have much money, but she didn't want to seem like some poor little dependent snob.  
  
"No, Harry, I'll pay for it. I should." She said defiantly. Harry laughed, snatched her wallet away, "Hey!" and slid his credit card through the check out machine.  
  
"Harry! You didn't have to, I could've..." She started. It was extremely accomadating for Harry to want to help her out so much. "Thankyou." She finished.  
  
"You're very welcome Mary, do you want me to take you to wherever your audition is?" Harry said as they walked out of the store.   
  
She checked her watch. She would have just enough time if they got there in the next ten minutes.   
  
"Oh yeah. Sure, Harry. It's-" She thought of some audition place near where she worked for a moment, and said, "actually down near the University." She knew of one audition place, but wasn't familiar enough to know of any closer landmarks than the college.   
  
----  
  
Peter collapsed on the steps of his would-be dorm. He had chosen not to have a room on campus, partly because it would jeopordize his true identity like no other. He'd like to have a dorm, it would make things less complicated, but no - his life just had to get more complicated every passing minute. He checked his watch, 12:45.   
  
"Still?" He moaned. He'd just gotten back from taking a couple of guys to the ER. The doctors thanked him and promised to spread the news that Spider-Man was a good guy, and Jameson was off his rocker.   
  
"At least I won't have cops trying to kill me from now on," He thought about that for a moment. How long would his peace with the police last? This would just make Jameson even more angry and determined to turn the city against him.  
  
He put his head in his hands and sighed. Life was definately going to get a lot harder when school started up. He couldn't afford to do badly in college, he'd be kicked out. The only reason he was there was on scholarship.   
  
"Peter?"   
  
He was already smiling when he heard the familiar voice behind him. It was Mary Jane.  
  
"MJ! You have no idea how glad I am to see you." He said. They hadn't spoken for a couple of days. Mainly because Peter was always too busy trying to balance Spidey and Parker evenly.  
  
She smiled knowingly. "Really?" She said. She raised one eyebrown and looked at him expectantly. She hadn't forgotten how she'd witnessed Gwen kissing him in the cafe. Obviously he hadn't missed her that much if he was already making new.... friends.   
  
"Yeah." There was nothing that could make him happier at that moment than seeing the beautiful red head standing there, in front of him.  
  
She thought she'd better voice her opinions or she'd explode trying to keep it all secret.  
  
"So, Peter. I see you got a... girlfriend, now. Is that right?" MJ said. She was a good actress. It sounded perfectly innocent with a tinge of curiousity.   
  
"Girlfriend?" He spat out. He laughed and looked at MJ to see if she was serious. She was giving him a "what?" look, and he straightened up. She smiled at him and said, "Yeah, Pete. I heard something about you and a girl." She said.  
  
"Oh really?" He said. Then he remembered - Gwen!   
  
"Oh. That." He said. "Yeah, Pete. That." She said, confirming his guess.  
  
"Oh. Her name's Gwen Stacy, and she's just a friend. I don't like her as anything more than a friend. She's a co-worker at the place I work at right now, the cafe, you know." He explained. MJ, still looking a little suspicious, smiled at him anyways and put a hand on his shoulder. Peter stopped smiling and was caught in the moment - his heart was beating twice as fast and he was sure his hands were sweaty, even in the cold New York weather.   
  
"I gotta go, tiger. I liked seeing you, Peter." Mary Jane stared at him adoringly for a moment. She wasn't sure if her actress skills could even cover up the secret feelings she held in her eyes. She looked deep into Peters ocean blue eyes, and for a moment, thought she saw something identical to what she was feeling - love.   
  
She walked away from Peter. She was late for work, but she didn't care, it was worth it. In that moment, she felt like the most important woman in the world.  
  
"Does Peter love me too?" She asked herself. She would have to find out.  
  
A/N - Okay, I hope this chapter was longer :) hope you like it! Please R/R! PS-Thanks LordLancealot - I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter... :) sorrry! 


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